John Womack Harrison Jr.'s Obituary
John Womack Harrison, Jr., beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away at the age of 83 during the morning of April 16th in Longview after a brief illness. A long time Trustee of the Longview Independent School District and a supporter of the Boy Scouts, Asbury House and the First United Methodist Church, John was born to Winnie D. Harrison and John W. Harrison, Sr. in Longview, Texas on May 15, 1934. He had three adoring sisters, Katherine, Marjorie and Louise.
John married his loving wife of over 52 years, Jean Ramey Harrison in 1953. Jean passed away in 2005. Together, they enjoyed travel, which included several trips to Great Britain, Ireland, Italy and France. They especially loved watching their children and grandchildren grow and blossom.
A 1952 graduate of Longview High School, John played football and ran track for the Lobos. In the spring of 1952, he was selected to compete in the Texas State Track and Field Tournament in Austin where he medaled in both the 440 yard run and the long jump. After graduation, he attended Kilgore College and SMU.
John was the owner of Ramey Harrison Appliance in Longview until the business closed in 2017. The original store and shop was started in 1949 by his father-in-law, J. R. Ramey. John joined the business in 1965 and became the owner in 1969.
John’s interest in Scouting started early. He became a member of Troop 201 where he earned the Eagle Scout badge with the Silver Palm Award. As a Scout, he attended the National Scout Jamborees in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and Irvine, California and he attended 7th World Scout Jamboree in Bad Ischl, Austria in 1951. From 1960 to 1965, John was the District Scout Executive for Southwest Arkansas and served as Camp Director for Camp Pioneer in Mena. After returning to Longview, John became an advisor to Explorer Post 201. Last May, he attended the 100th anniversary of Troop 201 in Teague Park.
Always interested in the welfare and education of children, John served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Longview Independent School District for over 43 years. During his tenure on the Board, he witnessed the rebuilding of every school campus in the LISD, including the 1976 completion of the award winning Longview High School complex. His passion was to see that the needs of special education students be met and for the curriculum to include vocational options for students in Longview. John was a Trustee twice when the LISD Board was recognized at the Outstanding School Board in Texas by the TASA. At the 2015 Lamplighter Awards ceremony, the LISD Foundation recognized John with the annual Cornerstone Award.
A longtime member of the Longview Downtown Rotary Club, John was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was proud of his over 51 years of perfect attendance. John was also a longtime supporter of Asbury House in Longview, donating toys and appliances to support their effort. He always enjoyed spending time with the children there. He was also a longtime member of the First United Methodist Church of Longview where he remained active in Henry Foster Sunday school class and several organizational groups at the church. He was always quick to volunteer his time and talents for the church. More than anything, John loved stopping and visiting with friends. Often just showing up at there business and pulling up a chair to catch up. He enjoyed people and their stories.
John is survived by his sister, Marjorie Bivins of Longview, his four children; David Harrison and his wife Elizabeth of West Palm Beach, Florida, Carole Cahill and her husband Mark of Dallas, James McKellar “Kelly” Harrison of Lufkin and Martha Collier and her husband Kyle of Longview. He is also survived by three grandchildren; Rachel Graham and her husband Connor of Longview, Alyson Kipp and her husband Chris of Longview and Alexander Harrison and his wife Yaicha of Northglenn Colorado and also two great grandchildren Merritt Kipp and Molly Graham, both of Longview.
Services will be held at 2:00pm Friday, April 20th at First United Methodist Church of Longview. Burial will follow at Memory Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5pm to 7pm Thursday, April 19th at Rader Funeral Home of Longview.
The Family would like to especially thank the following for their extra care and concern for John: Dr. Carl Earnest, The staff at Summer Meadows, Compass Hospice, Nathan Wright and Ignacio Rodriguez.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that John be remembered through donations to Asbury House, www.asburyhouse.net or the LISD Foundation, www.lisdfoundation.org.
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